


Spirits and other monsters

by DareMe (IncognitoMe)



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:27:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26026429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IncognitoMe/pseuds/DareMe
Summary: Something's wrong in Lavender Town's Pokémon Tower. Red is pulled along by his friend Bill to find out what has the resident ghosts fleeing to the lower floors. However, this time the thing waiting at the seventh level of the Tower is stranger still than a dead Marowak's spirit. Stranger and more sinister, indeed.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 13
Collections: Crossworks 2020





	Spirits and other monsters

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FallowDeer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallowDeer/gifts).



> Thanks @FallowDeer for this delightful prompt. I mixed up some of your plot ideas and I am rather satisfied with the result.
> 
> That said, I discarded some game mechanisms such as turn-based fighting and the 4-move-limit per Pokémon. However, all attacks used are possible for the relevant Pokémon to learn - in different generations and through different methods, but possible.
> 
> All in all, I hope you do enjoy this little crossover.

“I tell ya, mate, somethin’s fishy up da tower. Me Abra’s been goin’ nuts! An’ I mean, jus’ look a’ it! All dem Haunters and Ghastlys, dey’ve all gone down ta da firs’ ‘n’ secon’ levels. An’ da readings ar’ of da charts!”

“… …”

“Don’t gimme lip, bud, I dun known ya since ya were a wee bit kid, no chump an’ nothin’!”

“… … Bill.”

“Yeah, chump?”

“Please shut up. Vee’s anxious.”

“Arceus be damned, Red, ya dun turned sucha prick since ya went off ta play hermit up Mt. Silver!”

“Bill. This is a job _you_ asked me to help _you_ with. Now, Vee’s _my_ Pokémon. And her being anxious should at least have _you_ anxious, too, Bill. _I_ am anxious, because when I took Vee with me to battle Mewtwo, she _wasn’t_ anxious.”

That seemed to be the first thing that got through Bill’s thick skull. The man finally did shut up. However, while Red’s nerves were definitely relieved of a _significant_ strain now, the champion of Pallet Town still felt tense. It seemed as if there was more static in the air here in Lavender’s Pokémon Tower than there used to be in Zapdos old lair in the abandoned power plant. Pika would probably go ballistic if Red were to let him out of his pokéball.

The loaded atmosphere was quite at odds with the usual mood of the Pokémon Tower. The first time Red had been here the place had felt serene. Not peaceful, no, the old Marowak’s spirit and a detachment of Team Rocket grunts had prevented that, but serene. 

The second time hadn’t been any less turbulent, but that had been due to more mundane matters. Still, it was thanks to Green taking a stand back then —or a seat, rather, right in front of the heavy-duty excavators— that the Pokémon Tower still stood today, now next to the new Kanto Radio Tower.

“Well,” Bill drawled, gossip that he was, though he did speak more subdued now, “Why don’t ya tell me what’s been keepin’ ya up dat mountain ‘til now, Red? An’ don’t tell me it’s ya trainin’, da Pokémon up dere won’t offa ya a challenge anymo’. Ya’d be better off in da Cerulean Cave.”

Red’s withering glare left Bill squirming at that, but it did not stop the memories. Sweet, bitter, and everything in-between.

“Bill, why do you think I do not visit you at your place anymore?”

Bill did not answer the question. He did not need to. Red had trained at Cerulean Cave for a time, together with Misty, after Mt. Silver had grown a little stale. Of course, that was when Misty and he had still been an item. Now it was rather impossible to train together anymore.

“Is jus'… What ended it, Red?”

“It turned out,” Red answered, a little wistful, “that we are still chasing different horizons…”

Bill’s silence at that answer lasted a full second.  
“Ho-Oh take me,” Bill snorted in response, “ya can sound like sucha pretentious twat, Red. Is dat why ya talk so littl'?”

“At least my speech is intelligible, Bill,” Red shot back. “Be honest, you only refuse giving interviews because you know nobody could parse through that thing you call accent and actually understand you.”

“Ya wound me, chump, all a' us in Cerulean talk jus' like dis!”

 _No_ , Red thought, _you don't. Misty never did_.

Bill seemed to sense who Red was thinking of. However, being a reclusive tech genius had stifled his social skills a little.

“Ya git laid since ‘en?”

Sometimes, Red thought that Bill could be a horrible friend. Then, Red thought of what manner of punishment would be appropriate in this situation.

**POP!**

Bill's Abra in that moment proved that it indeed could —just as Dex claimed— detect hostile thoughts. In one moment, Bill and his Abra stood right next to Red and Vee, the next Red only heard the thunderclap of air displacement that always accompanied Teleport. 

And suddenly it was just Red and his Espeon, alone on the empty fourth floor of the Pokémon Tower.

 _Might as well check the rest of the tower myself. I’ll just bring Bill a few pictures if there’s anything noteworthy to see_ , Red decided. Alone with his Pokémon Red made to climb the rest of the tower by himself. Just as he had grown used to.

The stairs to the fifth level were not that far. However, as soon as Red ascended he got the slinking suspicion that maybe Bill’s Abra did not flee the place because Red had been thinking of the best way to murder its trainer.

A pack of more than two score Absol was occupying the fifth floor of the Pokémon Tower. Something that should be impossible, considering that Absol were not native to Kanto and because Absol were solitary Pokémon to boot. Something seriously worrying was bound to wait for Red at the top of the tower.

“Transceiver, start recording,” Red said as he clipped his Xtransceiver to the shoulder strap of his bag, its camera pointed to the front, “Snor, I choose you!”

“Absol.” “Sol.” “Absoool.” “Absol.” “Sol. Absol.” “Absol.” “Sol.”

While the many Absol did not seem happy to let Red through on his way to the next set of stairs, the humongous Snorlax at his back did convince the pack of Disaster Pokémon to let Red pass. Well. Most of the Absol, at least.

As Red came in sight of the stairs to the sixth floor at last, the biggest Absol in the room stood squarely in his way, not moving an inch. Clearly, it meant to offer battle. From the way the other Absol regarded the big one it probably acted the leader of this pack.

Ten meters away from the beast Red came to a halt. His back straight, his face passive, his mouth silent. The champion of the Pokémon league had entered the field, and he was ready for battle.

“Sol!” The Absol hissed, directing a Leer straight at Red, its face an angry mask. Invisible Pressure seemed to increase the static in the air once again — yet instead of leaving Red tense, the Absol’s ability did not seem to affect the young master.

“… … . Move,” Red simply said, his voice almost bored, “or you will be removed.”

The Absol did not reply. Instead, there was a bright flash that suddenly engulfed it. Red did not lose a second.

“Snor. Heavy Slam.”

Despite its mass, Red’s Snorlax jumped to an almost unthinkable height, spun to increase his falling speed by kicking off from the floor’s ceiling and barreled towards the center of the light. The flash subsided barely a fraction before Snorlax reached it, but that was enough for Mega Absol to dash forward while delivering a Sucker Punch to Snor’s belly, ducking out to the side after.

Snor impacted on the floor with a bang, leaving an indention beneath him and the graves around him shaking as if Fissure had been used instead. The Absol stood off to the side. It seemed to have grown another head taller, its fur coat had unfurled on its back as if it were a pair of wings and had turned so white it was almost lustrous. 

And yet, despite landing a hit, it had been a mistake for the Absol to try and strike Snorlax in its fall. There was no winning against such mass in motion. While Snorlax now sported a thin white line on the front from Absol’s black crest, said crest had been pushed down and twisted. It had also jostled Absol’s head strong enough to leave the wild Pokémon dazed and likely concussed. The Disaster Pokémon, on the other hand, did not even manage to pierce Snor’s skin

“Hammer Arm.”

Snor immediately obeyed Red’s command, bouncing from the ground to his feet straight in front of Absol. Swinging his body and arm to deliver a just survivable amount of torque, Snorlax move catapulted the Mega Absol a few meters, knocking over a good four memorial steles standing in its path.

Limping to a stand the Absol positioned itself so that both Snorlax and Red were in front of it. Beating its faux wings in a hurry, a type of whirlwind seemed to pick up. However, the amount of air that was moved should be impossible to be set into motion by just the Absol’s frantic moves.

“Snor. To me. Defense Curl.”

Recognizing the danger for what it was, Red ordered his Snorlax to envelop him in a hug as it rolled up and shielded both of them from the unnatural gust that developed around Absol. A second later, Razor Wind tried to penetrate Snorlax’s back and cut him open, yet neither Snorlax nor Red were affected.

Still enveloped in Snorlax’s arms, Red did not spare a thought to extricating himself before he told Snor what to do next.

“Rollout.”

The first time they hit Absol, it tried to dive to the side. It did not manage to escape entirely. The second time they hit it, Absol’s stand broke and it collapsed where it stood. A third turn left it unable to rise and continue the fight. Another flash engulfed its body. A second later the Mega Evolution had passed and the Absol had returned to its normal form.

Red and Snor disentangled a few meters away, both keeping their eyes on the downed Pokémon before them. After a few seconds, despite its injuries, the Absol dragged itself to lie once more between Red and the stairs. In no condition to truly fight, a mournful melody started to escape the beaten Absol.

“Snor,” Red said, his face still passive but his voice with a new edge to it, “can you knock out that Absol without killing it?”

“Lax…”

Snor’s response sounded almost sad as he shook his head in the negative.

“Arceus!” Red cursed. “Why? Dex, employing emergency action. Wild Pokémon has started Perish Song. If I cannot disrupt the song, I will order potentially lethal attack.”

“ _Affirmative. Emergency protocol activated_ ,” Red’s pokédex responded in its tinny voice.

At least the Xtransceiver had already been recording. Now that this sojourn up the Pokémon Tower had definitely developed into a situation that required a report be lodged with the authorities, Red was lucky he had the whole thing on camera. That would leave no questions towards the need for his path of action.

“Snor. One try. Use Belly Drum right next to the Absol. If it does not drown out the Perish Song in fifteen seconds, use Giga Impact. That will at least leave all the other Absol on this floor alive.”

Red hated having to use extreme force against Pokémon, but necessity never bred easy options. Snor was a gentle giant, too, deep beneath all the layers of muscle and fat. Almost frantically did the huge Pokémon start battering away at his belly right next to the injured Absol. The drumming did swell loud enough to overshadow the mournful elegy of Perish Song, yet only after twelve seconds did the Absol stop singing.

When Red stepped up to the downed Pokémon, he recognized that it had started bleeding from both its ears. The Absol had only stopped singing because both its eardrums had ruptured, it seemed.

“Snoor?” Snor asked, and Red knew his partner long enough to understand the question

“You know it would not have let itself be captured, Snor. I believe the other Absol would have stepped in, too, if I tried. Absol only appear before humans in case of looming disaster. Yet these Absol here did not seek out anyone to warn them. Whatever is going on in this tower, it is reasonable to assume it will remain contained.”

“Snorlaax,” Snor pushed out with a yawn, falling to the wayside.

“Rest, buddy,” was all that Red said as he returned his big brawler to its Pokéball before turning to address his Espeon. “Vee, use Future Sight. Step in when you deem it necessary.”

“Esss,” Vee answered as its eyes took on a red hue. Red knelt down next to the beaten Absol before him and took out a Full Restore, carefully spraying it onto the wounds of the injured creature. 

It took a few minutes for the wounds to mend themselves, but Red knew the Absol would need to seek out a Center soon enough. Still, when it could stand again, the Absol seemed to hesitate whether it should block Red’s path once more.

“Sol!” It hissed after a few seconds, motioning its head for Red to follow. As they reached the stairs it turned to walk on Red’s side. Vee kept its eyes on the wild Pokémon all the while, perched on Red’s shoulder as it was.

However, nothing —not even all the Absol in the world combined— could have prepared Red for the sight that waited for him on the sixth floor.

“Dex,” Red said a little hoarsely at the sight of the sleeping giant on the ground, “tell me what I am seeing.”

“ _Palkia. The Spatial Pokémon. It is described as a deity in Sinnoh-region mythology. It is suspected that Palkia lives in a different dimension, making its behavior nearly impossible to study. However, it is known to frequently battle Dialga, the Temporal Pokémon_ ,” the tinny voice said, “ _Palkia is fast asleep_.”

“Observation,” Red said, half for the recording and half for himself, “it is likely that Palkia was put to sleep by another Pokémon. Palkia is sleeping fitfully, therefore, I am suspecting that Nightmare might have been used on it. Yet, there is no sign of battle. I am now continuing on to the final floor of the Pokémon Tower.”

Despite the tempting fight to be had, Red decided not to wake Palkia. Instead, Red gave the legend a wide berth as he went around it, Absol at his heel. Vee was not frantic at the sight of the titan of space, either, so Red surmised that worthier challenges yet lay ahead of him, higher up the Tower. Curiously, while the sixth floor itself was silent, a familiar popping sound could be heard already as Red climbed the last set of stairs to the seventh and final level.

The distinctive sound of Teleport being used in rapid succession did not fill Red with confidence. Whatever was up there was bound to be turbulent. Red still stayed in his expressionless battle mode while tiny tendrils of fear kept tickling the back of his head. And yet, part of Red relished in the tension and the excitement of once more finding a fight about more than just trainer rankings awaiting him.

The corridor that was the seventh floor was cluttered with Clefairys, Clefables, and Cleffas. A dark shadow stood in front of a bright crack in the air, between the columns where the air looked like a pane of shattered glass, set alight.

**POP!**

“ _Clefairy used Metronome! Waggling a finger let it use Teleport!_ ”

Dex’s tinny voice rang out as it analyzed the situation in front of Red’s eyes. To accurately gauge what happened when Red gambled and ordered Snor to use Metronome, he had programmed his Pokédex to always name the move that Metronome called forth.

**POP!**

“ _Clefairy used Metronome! Waggling a finger let it use Teleport!_ ”

The tinny voice had the shadow at the end of the corridor turn around. It stood a little smaller than Red himself and seemed to consist of flowing darkness collared in blood. Its plume looked to be made of a white fog with sharp edges. Tears were streaming down from its crystal blue eyes.

**POP!**

“ _Clefable used Metronome! Waggling a finger let it use Teleport!_ ”

The shadow lifted its arm and a ball of night gathered above its outstretched palm. Suddenly, Vee jumped in front of Red. There was a distinct snarl on Espeon’s face as she guarded her trainer. Yet, Vee did not cancel Future Sight to use another move.

 _So, that ball of night’s a status move_ , Red thought, _was it this shadow that put Palkia to sleep? Good thing I taught Vee to weaponize its Magic Bounce by using Future Sight._

**POP!**

“ _Clefairy used Metronome! Waggling a finger let it use Teleport!_ ”

“Dex, what is that Pokémon threatening to attack me?” Red was unsure whether the shadow was a Dark or a Ghost type, but he knew that Vee was likely at a disadvantage. Already the question whether Snor or maybe Blue’s Charizard was the best to send out lingered in the back of Red’s head.

“ _Darkrai. The Pitch-Black Pokémon. Dark type._ ” Again, Dex’s metallic hum supplied information on a Pokémon Red did not know. It was a rare thing to encounter even one Pokémon Red was unfamiliar with on any given day, but this Darkrai was already the second new Pokémon today. “ _According to folklore Darkrai is the cause of nightmares on moonless nights and preys on both Pokémon and humans in their dreams. However, it has been observed that Darkrai does not attack either Pokémon or humans unprovoked. It afflicts those around it with nightmares to protect itself and its territory. Against popular sentiment Darkrai has proven not to be malicious._ ”

**POP!**

“ _Clefable used Metronome! Waggling a finger let it use Teleport!_ ”

 _Not malicious, huh_ , Red thought. After a second, he turned to address his Espeon. “Vee, if Darkrai moves to attack, you are to block with Magic Bounce. However, you are not to attack unprovoked. We are not here to fight. Once Darkrai lowers his hand, return to my side.”

Red spoke loud enough that Darkrai could hear him across the room. If the dark type did prove itself acquiescent to amity there would be no reason to break peace. As the dark sphere atop Darkrai’s palm slowly disappeared, Espeon once more took his place on Red’s shoulder.

**POP!**

“ _Cleffa used Metronome! Waggling a finger let it use Teleport!_ ”

The Darkrai turned around again to observe the shattered air as Red took a closer look at the Cleffas, Clefairys and Clefable using Metronome to reliably blink in and out of existence. _This should not be possible_ , Red thought, _why is Metronome always turning into Teleport? How is it that all these Clefs keep reappearing here, instead of going somewhere else with Teleport? Why are they all even here in the Pokémon Tower in the first place?!_

“Snor,” Red called out, once more releasing his Snorlax to test a theory, “use Metronome.”

**POP!**

“ _Snorlax used Metronome! Waggling a finger let it use Teleport!_ ”

Snor traversed less than a meter using Teleport, all five times that Red had it use Metronome in succession. Having his conformation Red kept Snorlax on hand. Maybe, just maybe, the big guy would feel if another change to Metronome’s usual function occurred.

 _Is it the fact that Palkia is close that Teleport is behaving oddly? Or is that crack in the air over there destabilizing the space inside this corridor? Did Palkia cause the crack, or has the crack led Palkia to come to this tower? Why were Bill and his Abra not affected by the oddities Teleport seems to experience here?_

A multitude of question flew through Red’s head, yet he discarded them one after another. There was no way he could deduce right there what it was that seemed to mess with space itself, or why it was the evolutionary forms of Clefairy that were the Pokémon present at this place at this time.

However, maybe…

“Darkrai,” Red called out, causing the shadowy silhouette to turn to him once more, “do you know what is happening here?”

**POP!**

“ _Cleffa used Metronome! Waggling a finger let it use Teleport!_ ”

The Pitch-Black Pokémon regarded Red silently for a second, tears still streaming down its face. Finally, it simply nodded.

 _Darkrai is the cause of nightmares on moonless nights and preys on both Pokémon and humans in their dreams_ , Red thought, remembering Dex’s description of Darkrai.

“Can you show me?”

It was reckless, both the idea and posing the question. Based on folklore. Oak would have Red’s head for this if the professor ever found out. But still.

Vee did not drop Future Sight as she jumped from Red’s shoulder this time either, yet neither did she block the space between Red and the Darkrai as Darkrai lifted its palm. A new pitch-black sphere formed above the umbral Pokémon’s palm. The bundle of darkness slowly expanded until it was larger than Red himself, floating in place right next to its maker, not ten meters from the shattered space at the end of the corridor.

**POP!**

“ _Clefable used Metronome! Waggling a finger let it use Teleport!_ ”

Walking towards the black sphere, Red stretched out his hand to touch the darkness, and already he felt himself falling, deeper and dee—

— _ave, but then the water receded under a red light as fire balls impacted walls of ice and turned canals into steam and fog. Two fishes, black and white, white and black, circling, eternally. The red light did not come from the flames. Instead, a bloody moon watched as men and women died to fire and ice. The circle was broken, and half of a whole was gone. Red as blood turned black as ash, and the world ground to a halt. Alone, a single fish tried to find a rhythm, crying for that which was gone. Waves died; flames died. Darkness, darkness and death. The corpse of the mo_ —

**POP!**

The sound of another Teleport woke Red again, yet Dex’s tinny voice did not mention another Metronome. Red took a second to remember where he was. Darkrai loomed above him, its shadowy form not diminished by the unearthly glow of the broken air. Turning around, Red almost forgot to breathe for a second as he beheld Mew floating in the corridor, closer to the crack than the Clefs but not as close as Red, Darkrai, Vee, and Snor. 

Most worrying, however, was that Vee was trembling in fright. Red’s Espeon had deployed Light Screen between Red’s party and the Mew. The Absol that had followed Red to the final floor stood on the first step going down again.

As Red tried to understand what all this meant, Mew started waggling a finger.

**POP!**

“ _Mew used Metronome! Waggling a finger let it use Teleport!_ ”

Instead of advancing just a few centimeters, the Mew reappeared almost next to the spatial anomaly. It had entered the cube that Espeon had formed using Light screen, yet the little pink mouse did not even regard Red and the others standing a meter behind it even a little.

“Why?!,” Red found himself asking the tiny myth in front of him, “why are you here?! Your sibling to the north has been looking for you all its life; and you Teleport _here_? For a crack in space?”

Red knew he should not be angry at the Mew, but when the flying cat regarded him with such a knowing look, Red could not help it.

“Meew,” the myth simply cheeped. Then, it turned towards the broken space and once more swung its finger like a pendulum.

However, instead of disappearing with a pop, Metronome did not turn to Teleport this time. No. But where before there had been a crack running through the air, now there had opened a gaping pit, greedily sucking in air without end.

“ _Mew used Metronome! Waggling a finger let it use Hyperspace Hole!_ ”

**POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP!**

“ _Cleffa, Clefairy, and Clefable used Metronome! Waggling a finger let them use Teleport!_ ”

Not a second later the entire floor was almost empty. All the Clefs had used Teleport at once, but this time the move actually worked. Red was being pulled towards Hyperspace Hole, but luckily for him Snorlax grabbed onto him before Red could be swallowed by the portal in front of them.

Darkrai, however, was not so lucky. The half-incorporeal shadow was sucked into the hole in the air and gone a second after. The consequences of Darkrai’s disappearance could be heard not long after. A thundering roar shaking the tower signaled the waking of Palkia on the sixth floor.

Red was stuck thinking what to do now. _Darkrai has proven not to be malicious. Fuck. Me._ Already the culprit of this disaster, Mew, started waggling its finger once more.

“No,” Red said, throwing out another pokéball, “you don’t! Snor, Saur, use Block.”

“ _Snorlax and Venusaur used Block! Wild Mew can’t escape now!_ ” Dex’s voice rang out, and just in time as Red heard a second after. “ _Mew used Metronome! Waggling a finger let it use Teleport, but it failed!_ ”

Meanwhile, Red took off the Xtransceiver from his shoulder strap. Someone would need to know where he went, preferably someone that had the power to get him out if need be. Someone that had a motivation to do so.

“Vee, Psychic,” Red ordered, tossing the Xtransceiver towards Espeon, “send it to Absol.”

Espeon did not hesitate a second and levitated the Xtransceiver over to the Disaster Pokémon standing by the stairs. All the while, the camera’s lens was still directed at Red.

“Run, Absol,” Red called towards it, “bring that to the master of the Cerulean Cave!”

Another roar shook the tower. Time was running out, the hole in the air was starting to mend itself.

“Vee, Return. Snor, Tackle Mew into the breach. Saur, Take Down, same objective.”

A red flash burst out, and Espeon had been returned to its ball. Snor got up and used a running Tackle against Mew, pushing both of them towards the crack in space. And yet, right at the edge, the blue glow of Psychic brought them both to halt.

Then Red’s Venusaur impacted Snorlax from behind with Take Down and pushed all three Pokémon through the breach.

Not waiting a heartbeat longer, Red sprinted towards the closing hole, and dove right through. Just then, a hulking white giant entered the seventh level of the Pokémon Tower.

Palkia struck the hole that Mew had opened with Spatial Rend. And the anomaly was gone, just like that. Palkia, too, just blinked out of existence from one moment to another. Not even the familiar popping sound of Teleport accompanied its disappearance. The only creature left that witnessed it all was the Absol standing by the staircase, a camera in its mouth that was pointed at all that had happened.

Not ten minutes after Palkia made the hole in space vanish, all the Absol had left the tower and the Ghastlys and Hounters started returning to their usual floors. There was not a trace left of Mew, Darkrai, or Red and any of his Pokémon.

* * *

“Arceus, I never expected a Mew to be such an asshole! First it forces us to come here, then it just flies up and leaves! Where the fuck is this place?!”

Red’s shout rang out through the mountain pillars of karst surrounding him and disappeared in the dense yellow fog that concealed everything around him like a sulfuric veil. There was a sun or a moon shining above, yet only sparse lighting showed the way. Everything had an eerie tint to it, the rocks seemed oily, the plants sickly, the ground barren.

Just to be sure Red checked his gear. A Pokédex. A full team of six Pokémon on his belt. A reasonably full purse. Recovery items, an assortment of pokéballs, a full TM Case. Collapsible Bicycle and Fishing Rod. A Berry Pot and a SquirtBottle. Go-Goggles and a Devon Scope. Finally, Red’s Poké Flute. Everything necessary to brave whatever was coming was at hand. Except his Xtransceiver, but Red was usually tardy in calling anyone, anyways. Well, with any luck Red would be home before anyone but his mom noticed he was missing.

“Vee, Pika, Saur, come on out.”

After taking stock of his supplies Red called out his tiny electric mouse, his Espeon and his starter. Now that there wasn’t any static in the air anymore, Pikachu was a safe choice again. Saur, on the other hand, could check whether this fog was poisonous or safe to tread. 

“Pika-Pi.” “Venusaaaaur.”

The little bugger was happy to be out, and the hulking plant lizard showed no sign of distress. Unlike Snor, Saur wasn’t tired from throughout the day. Vee, the purple feline, remained quiet as she settled on Red’s shoulders once more. A look at the map function showed Red that, no, his Pokédex still had no reception. So, he just pointed his feet in the direction Mew had flown off to and started walking, Pika by his side and Saur in his wake. 

Red had felt an odd inclination to head this way even before Mew had flown there. Maybe Darkrai had left down the slope that Red was now walking down towards the foggy ravine at the bottom, too. 

As Red walked on the flora only got bleaker and bleaker. Gnarled, skeletal trees appeared from the fog at times, only to be swallowed again not soon after. They were of an impressive size, though, something that Red had never seen the likeness of. However, not a single bird could be heard, and so far, no animal had entered into Red’s sight.

Red did not know how long he was walking but he noticed that the light never changed, nor the position of the sun or moon above him. It was weird, different from any place in Kanto or the other countries Red had visited before. _Maybe_ , Red thought, _my return will take a little longer than just a few days_. And despite himself, there was a fond satisfaction Red felt at the thought.

After what felt like hours of walking, Red finally heard the noise of animals approaching. The rushing of feet, screeches from numerous throats, and labored breaths. Red disliked meeting whatever was coming in the poor conditions of the fog, but Venusaur’s Sunny Day had proven unable to pierce the ubiquitous fog.

“Saur, to the front. Use Grass Knot to set up a perimeter. If whatever is coming proves hostile you may employ Sleep Powder and Bullet Seed at your discretion.”

“Sa-Saur,” came the response as Venusaur pulled ahead of Red.

Not soon after a group of primates appeared from the mist, maybe a little more than a score. The beasts looked similar to a group of Monfernos, yet Red’s Pokédex did not react to them. _Uncategorized, huh_ , Red thought. He was definitely far from home.

There was something odd about the primates. While they had darker fur than a Monferno, they sported no flames their curly tails. Same as Monfernos they had a blue face, yet they possessed more vicious teeth. Curiously, a few of them had blank skin where their faces should have been. _Probably another evolutionary stage_ , Red filed away in his head.

Yet, the primates gave Venusaur and Ash a wide berth, rushing past them. They almost seemed to be on the run from something, and they were carrying a few sleeping members of their kind along. Sleeping monkeys that were writhing around in their sleep.

“I think,” Red said to his three companions, “we are walking in the right direction, as far as our search for Darkrai is concerned.”

Walking on, they were rushed by different beasts, time and time again. Always the groups were carrying a few sleeping members of their kind, and some beasts were without facial features. There were flocks of bunnies flying by, wings in place of their ears. Packs of foxes with sandy brown fur and pupil-less eyes. More blue-nosed Monferno wannabes. Not a single species was known to the Pokédex.

Once Red had Saur use Block to keep a charm of foxes escaping. However, the frenzied group turned on Red in a heartbeat, and Red did not care to torment the beasts further. Block was released and a single Thunderbolt convinced the foxes to choose flight over fight. Afterwards Red continued chasing Darkrai without disturbing the local fauna again.

Reaching the center of the gorge, Red stood in front of the largest tree he’d ever seen, a grotto beckoning him enter beneath its roots. In the entrance of the cave Red saw Darkrai’s silhouette, the Pitch-Black Pokémon staring down into the depths before him.

“Hey, Darkrai,” Red called out, his voice seemingly slowed by the fog, “I’ve been looking for you. Why are you putting all those animals to sleep?”

Darkrai turned around at the sound, yet instead of meeting blue eyes, Red found himself staring into just another featureless face.

 _It wasn’t evolutionary, all those beasts_ , Red thought, startled, _someone inflicted this status on them. But what attack can steal someone’s face_?

Seamlessly, Red went into battle mode. His back straight, his face passive, his mouth silent. The champion of the Pokémon league had entered the field. Something was out there, and it was a threat.

“I followed you into the hole,” Red addressed Darkrai, “to get you back. Let me help. Show me what happened.”

Darkrai opened a palm, and a bubble of darkness drifted over. Seeing the familiar pit, Red reached out, grabbing nothing, yet falling and alr—

— _“ught, two new faces showing up the same day!” A huge centipede loomed above Darkrai’s form, as large as an Onix. “Of course, the last escaped, but your soul just screams of delicious sadness.”_

_A monkey’s face, blue-nosed and with vicious teeth stared down from the center of the centipede’s head. The cave was cold and damp, vines and roots stretching along the ceiling. The huge centipede slithered more like a snake as it ran rings around Darkrai._

_“And so slow, did you not come for the same reason as the last visitor? But for you it’s a calling, chasing the moon forever, is it not?” Writhing with its head, lids closed over the monkey’s face once, and from its place looked a powdered face from an actor now, almost like a mask. “Or was it just an accident? Your face will make a wonderful addition to my collection, it looks quite unique.”_

_A grotesquely large tongue escaped from painted lips. It covered the entire face for a second, and when the tongue retreated it left behind the face of a beautiful woman instead, long hair swaying in an unfelt breeze. The clicking of feet was everywhere, the centipede never stood still._

_“But am I not always helpful? Tui reborn, I offer you freely. Yet even here you will be despised, usher of nightmares.”_

_The mouth was all teeth now, growing and growing until the entire face was teeth. Opening for a bite, behind the fangs the snout of a fox appeared, pupil-less eyes staring at Darkrai, crystal blue meeting crystal blue._

_On and on the centipede talked. “I see what you are, walker of the night. When the moon shines, you do not feel lonely. But when it’s gone? Oh, to crave company, yet drive it away just with your presence…”_

_Another turn, another new face. A great beast with tusks, beady black eyes, and leathery skin the color of cream._

_“Of course, I cannot scare you, you who craft horrors. Do they stick with you, too, when you wake?”_

_The centipede’s tone was decidedly malicious. And yet, it never attacked. Darkrai stood there, black spheres forming all around him. Apparently, Darkrai had had enough of the incessant taunting._

_“GASP,” a baby’s mouth exclaimed, large eyes shimmering with tears, “even to me, your only friend? What have I done to you? Am I not the first to speak with you in ages, without any shouted threats or pointed demands?”_

_Darkrai stopped cold, spheres hovering not a centimeter from the centipede’s newest face._

_“How I know?” The baby face asked, tears drying as it morphed back into the face of the powdered actor. “You entered my realm, Darkrai of Moonless Nights, of course I know what moves you. Does it not sting, how they love her when they despise you?”_

_Darkrai was not crying as it had been back at the Pokémon Tower, but a single tear shimmered in its eye. The centipede looked like a predator, and for a second it did not have a face at all. Then, Darkrai saw his own face peering down at him as his vision shrank from the edges, darker and darker and da_ —

Red woke, feeling like he came up for air, but before anything could happen, multiple black spheres touc—

— _e blue-nosed monkey looked up at his father’s face, lodged in the segmented body that hunted its kind since before the monkey had been born, and it knew it should remain still. And yet, his father’s face morphed into his mother’s, and then all faces were gone for a second as the centipede started forming the young blue-nosed monkeys own f_ —

— _gher, ever rising as the dragonfly bunny flew with its ears, trying to escape the ancient terror. It should not look back, it knew, yet the hiss of an eel snake had it throw a single glance over its shoulder. There, before him, was the face of a beast just like the one that had eaten the bunny’s sister last spring. Startling for just a fraction of a second, the bunny saw an empty space where the eel snake had been as he felt his own vision slowly fadi_ —

— _hi Tong had sent him to ask the Face Stealer for new knowledge, for it was old and wise. The fox that had kept the library knew it should remain stoic, devoid of outward emotion. Having heard of the ancient centipede’s true face from Wan Shi Tong himself, the fox knew it needed to be careful of the malevolent spirits envy more than its truths. Opposite him, the ancient centipede went rigid, a blue demon changing into an ephemeral woman changing into a raging tiger changing into a wyvern-like owl changing, changing, changing, changing, changi_ —

— _ppeared, and now she was left to care for their brood by herself. Her old grounds were too dangerous for a single eel snake to hunt on her own. So, she had gone down the ravine, as all the last days. There was Koh at the apex, sure, but he was unlikely to leave his lair. The first two hours yielded no fruit. Preparing to go even deeper, the eel snake heard a rustling behind her. She could not believe it at first, in the bushes she spied her mate’s tongue probing out, a second later his face appeared. Crying out in happiness, she rushed over, only to find her lovers face attached to the end of a ginormous centipede. Joy turning to dread, the eel snake turned, but it was too late. She’d seen the barren emptiness beneath, and already lights around her were dimm_ —

Red came to with a start. Horror and excitement warred within him. Yet, the battle was not over, so Red’s face remained blank. Making plans and discarding them in a heartbeat, Red decided on his best options. Pika was too flippant, so the little mouse was recalled. Saur, though, was most like Red. Stoic.

“Vee. Combat ahead. Stay on my shoulder. You are not to move. Keep your eyes closed. Hide in my hood.”

Red’s Espeon stayed nestled into Red’s shoulder, covered by his hood, and Red hoped Magic Bounce would prevent a stolen face if everything else went wrong.

“Saur, as soon as that _thing_ down there proves resistant to diplomacy I want you to hit him with the full cocktail. Toxic, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, Leech Seed. Grassy Terrain and Grass Knot as soon as you see it, Sweet Scent the whole time. Expect a huge centipede with a changing face. You guys ready?”

“Veee.” “Esss.” The reply was immediate.

Red waited until Magic Coat was deployed and until he noticed Sweet Scent engulfing the area. Then, he started walking down the cave. Darkrai lingered on the precipice, somehow unable to follow. Not long, Red and his Pokémon had all disappeared into the twilight of the abyss.

* * *

Dark, damp, murky and dark. The cave seemed less like a cave the farther Red went down. It seemed more like a lair. Chitinous clicking could be heard, innumerable feet scraping against tree and stone and earth. Down and down it went.

“Hello, stranger,” a smooth voice rang out behind Red suddenly.

Red turned, finding an owl’s face attached to a centipede’s body staring at him.

“Three interesting guests in a single day! I have not been so entertained for 400 years; I tell you. And one guest more curious than the other. Before today I would have believed the Avatar to be the most delicious face to ever find, but _you_ , my dear stranger… You I just find _unprecedented_!”

The owl cawed, its beak opening impossibly wide. Deep from its maw the face of a pockmarked elder appeared, missing several teeth. It was more disconcerting to watch than a Ditto morphing into a person.

“Unprecedented?” Red asked, his tone bored, “how so?”

“Well, _stranger_ ,” the big bug chittered, giggling high-pitched like a child as his face seemed to blink under a lid only to appear in the guise of a young baby, “I always know who visits my lair. I know who my guests _are_. I know what they _want_. I know what they _fear_. But you, _stranger_ , you and your plant-lizard-thing-friend, you two are the first beings I know not despite the fact that you entered my humble abode. I cannot think of a more _appetizing_ face now that I have seen you!”

A string of drool leaked from the baby’s mouth. The thing in front of Red almost looked ravenous. Red, on the other hand looked on in mild disinterest. If Red had been prone to displaying emotions on his face in battle, however, his face would have shown triumph. It had been a slight gamble, coming down here, but already Red’s theory had proven itself correct. 

Abilities worked here, in this strange place. Just as the many sleeping beasts on the run outside had been suffering from Darkrai’s Bad Dreams, Vee’s Magic Bounce kept the centipede from reading Red’s mind, like it had done to Darkrai and all the other creatures Red had seen in the dreams outside the grotto. Already the loss of this advantage led Red’s enemy to show a few weaknesses. For one, the bug did not even notice the purple feline hidden in Red’s hood.

“Well, … you. I do not know either who you are, what you want and what you fear. And you do not look all that appetizing to me,” Red said, the centipede giggling in response, “so what do you say about a… trade. I tell you who I am, and you tell me who you are. Tit for tat.”

Circling, circling, multiple legs. Grass grew on the floor, spreading out from Venusaur’s position, and slowly the centipede came to a halt. The visage of a snake poked out slightly from the place the centipede wore its faces.

“Tit. For tat. I have not heard that before,” circling, circling, “I take it that means truth for truth, yes?”

Red’s nod elicited another giggle from the bug. Then, in an instance a wasp’s face stared into Red’s eyes, halting not an arm’s length away. For the first time, the centipede seemed to stand perfectly still. Red noticed that the centipede did not seem to breath, then.

“Agreed, boy. Tit. For tat. Let us do that,” the centipede purred from a cat’s mouth, “but not just who we are. I want to know your wants” – a serpent’s tongue escaped the cat’s mouth for a second, hissing – “and I want to know your fears.”

Red pondered for a second, at least on the surface. The centipede could not stay still, it seemed, it was back to circling again. Finally, Red answered.

“I am inclined to agree, on the same wager. Your wants for mine. My fears for yours.”

“Agreed,” The bug did not wait a second to reply, “now, then, who a–”

“Wait,” Red interrupted, “how can we tell the other is not lying?”

Suddenly the centipede’s face resembled a scoffing old woman, and Red had the distinct impression the bug only took on this face in order to scoff.

“Humans,” an old woman’s wearied voice rang out, “always so untrusting. So _unknowing_. This is the spirit world, boy, your emotions become your reality, here. Lies fall away, transparent. You may try to lie, but you won’t. Now, then, who a–”

“Why do you think I am a human?” Red asked the question almost idly, but for the first time since he’d seen the bug, the centipede seemed surprised. It halted, and not as a show of intimidation. No, the old woman’s face was just blank for a second. Then, a low, rumbling giggle came out before the centipede spoke once more.

“ _You_ , stranger, are good! I cannot tell. Are you? Human?”

“I could tell you,” Red said, putting on a thick innocent tone, “but that would not be who I am. That would be _what_ I am, and we have not bargained for that truth. Now, I am Red; who are you?”

“I am Koh, Red,” the centipede replied, “and I want to know: What are you? Tit. For Tat?”

Internally, Red smirked. Then, he spoke: “I am a human. What are you, Koh?”

“I am a spirit. Wha–”

“I am the Champion of Kanto.”

Koh looked stumped.

“What?”

“That’s what I am. I am the Champion of Kanto. What are you, Koh?”

Red looked supremely innocent once more, asking the question he had baited out from Koh. Now the spirits weakness, his reliance on his mind-reading abilities, showed.

“Ooooh, you are sneaky! A sneaky human. But alright. You gave me tit. I am the Face Stealer. Tat.”

“I am the son of Delia Aka. What are you?” 

Red did not relent, leaving not a chance for Koh to move the conversation forward. The lids came down on the old woman’s face, leaving behind the painted actor. Despite the heavy makeup the new face looked furious. 

“I am the son of the Mother of Faces. IwantostealyourFACE! What do you want, Red?”

“I want you to return Darkrai’s face to him. Then, I want to go home. What do you want, Koh?”

There was no transition. The actor’s face was gone, and Darkrai’s face looked down at Red.

“ _Darkrai. The Pitch-Black Pokémon. Dark type. Accordi–_ ” Dex’s tinny voice started up from Red’s belt before Red cancelled his pokédex. Well. The last command that Red _had_ given Dex was to identify the Pokémon threatening to attack him. Now, Dex’s message had come a welcome surprise.

Koh was looking on in surprise, his eyes fixed on Dex’s form.

“What was that?”

“Nothing important,” Red answered, but a distinct sense of _wrongness_ permeated him for a second.

“You lie, human!”

Koh did not seem wroth as he spoke, anymore. Giddy would be a better word to describe the old spirit right then.

“Alright. That was a lie. That message was… _something_ important.” 

Red tasted the words on his tongue for a second. The spirit world did not interfere, for Red spoke no lie. 

“But that message is irrelev– that message is not subject to our tit for tat exchange, Koh. On the other hand, I am still waiting for your answer here. What do you want, Koh?”

For a second Red felt the world on the cusp of objecting, so he amended his statement. Koh’s face burst open vertically, and again the actor’s face appeared. Again, it looked livid.

“I want to read your mind, human. You make me _angry_!”

Spittle flew as the actor screamed, then it was the owl, then it was a toothy dolphin. For a second Koh’s face just seemed indistinct and everchanging, before settling back into the familiar visage of Darkrai. Red held Koh’s gaze for a second. After, Red spoke. His face remained stoic and bored; Red’s voice, however, was dripping with contempt

“If that is your answer, Koh, this exchange ends here. You wanting to know my fears and wants is the basis of this game. Tell me something… better!”

Darkrai’s eyes narrowed, but Koh did not rebuke Red. Instead, Koh seemed to ponder. Red did not give the old spirit time for that.

“ **I want to be the very best, like no one ever was. And I want to catch ‘em all, all the Pokémon there are** ,” Red spoke on, and while that information would not mean much to Koh, the pure _conviction_ in Red’s words had the world around him thrumming with agreement.

 _This is the spirit world, boy, your emotions become your reality, here_ , Red thought, remembering Koh’s words from earlier. This was truly a strange place Red had found himself in.

“I have now told you four things I want, Koh, while you have only told me one. Well, one that counts,” Red said – smugly, this time – taunting the centipede before him, “now you owe me three of your wants. Get on with it. I want to move on to _your_ fears.”

Red channeled his inner Blue as he spoke right then, and he had to say, acting a prick could really be entertaining. Letting a beat pass, Red decided to needle Koh just a little more.

“You know, Koh, I will be generous. You do not have to match that last want with one of your own. Consider it a gift.

“You owe me three things you want.”

Darkrai’s eyes narrowed at Red’s words, and Koh’s sinuous body started circling again. After a second Koh spoke, enunciating each word sharply.

“I want to kill Father Glowworm.

“I want to read the mind of Wan Shi Tong.

“I want Avatar Kuruk to suffer for his arrogance for all eternity.”

Darkrai’s smoky white plume turned into billowing brown hair for a second before wafting up again, back in its original form. 

A baby’s face talked on, speaking perfectly despite lacking all teeth.

“I fear Vaatu. What do you fear, Red?”

The child giggled. Doubtlessly, Koh thought himself very clever. _Well_ , Red thought, _two can play that game_.

“I fear Arceus. Have you heard of Arceus, Koh?”

Koh replied in the pimpled face of a teenager, voice high and breaking.

“I have not heard of an Arceus, Red. Why, do you want to elaborate what an Arceus is?”

“Not particularly, no,” Red answered, “just like you probably do not want to tell me who Father Glowworm, Wan Shi Tong, Avatar Kuruk and Vaatu are.”

Red left the statement hang between himself and the old spirit before spitting out names.

“I fear Yveltal. I fear Giratina. I fear Dialga. I fear Palkia. I fear Mewtwo. I fear Kyogre. I fear Groudon. I fear Rayquaza. I fear Kyurem. I fear Nekrozma. Have you heard of any of them, Koh?”

“I have not,” the angry Noh mask ground out, “but I can tell you the name of ten spirits I fear in return. But that is not what you are after, Red, is it?”

“I don’t care a Rattata’s ass what unknown spirits you are afraid of. You got me with your wants, but more information along the same line sounds… _boring_. So, I say we stop here, Koh.”

Red paused for a second.

“Unless you want to raise the stake of our wager.”

A blue-horned devil’s mask appeared, and yet Koh seemed calmer than before.

“What do you have in mind, my human friend?”

“I tell you what I fear most, Koh. I tell you why I fear it. And if you do not understand, I will explain it until you do. And you will tell me the same about your greatest fear.”

The baby face appeared once more. However, Red could have done without watching a humongous centipede literally _salivating_ from a baby’s mouth in the place its face should have been.

“Agreeeed.”

Centipedes with baby faces should _not_ have serpent tongues.

“I fear losing my immortality.”

That information was… disturbing, to say the least. How ancient was the beast in front of Red, exactly? Still, while the prospect of clinging on to eternal life once you’ve achieved it seemed natural, Red merely cocked an eyebrow at Koh.

“And I already told you I fear Yveltal, Koh. I do not care whether you fear losing your immortality,” –at the last statement a sense of wrongness again permeated the spirit world because of course Red _did_ care– “ok, I do, but I want to know what you fear _most_.”

The blue-horned devil reappeared, teeth clenched in chagrin, and it eyed Red malevolently.

“I fear my mother most.”

And at Koh’s word the world answered. Red felt a brief flash of hope, despair and anxiety, a heady mix, but it was drowned out by fear.

“I fear my greatest dream coming true.”

And at Red’s word the world shuddered. Loneliness and longing and fear spiked, but when it left, only a void of apathy remained. The feeling was an old companion to Red. After all, his greatest dream and his greatest fear had come true. He had been living it for years, now. Koh had stopped moving entirely, and for the first time it did not even try to match Red’s gaze.

“Begone.”

Koh did not say more, yet Red had not gotten what he’d come for.

“You know,” Red simply drawled on, “I did achieve it. _To become the best_. It is great. At first. Then, it gets boring. And lonely. So _lonely_. I became the champion of Kanto. I did beat all the other champions, after. Johto, Sinnoh, Hoenn, Galar, man, I travelled far and wide. And I’ve _beaten_ them all. Then, I went into the wilds. Sure, I do fear Yveltal. Still, I _did_ beat him. Most of the others, too, though I have not gotten them all yet. What is left for me to strive for? What is left for me to see?”

Koh did not look at Red. Red allowed himself a small smile, just for a second.

“I’m glad I stumbled into this little world of yours, Koh. It is _something new_ to me. And thank you for telling me so much about it. I do not even care for your reasons for fearing your mother, or for yearning for her.”

Red’s smile dropped, but the entire time Koh had not dared to turn around.

“However, I do care that you return Darkrai’s face to him. Or I will simply beat _you_ , Koh.”

And the world did not deny Red’s words.

“I cannot do that,” Koh answered Red, and Red could taste the fear that the immortal before him felt. The spirit world felt wrong for a second. Koh had lied.

“Such a pity,” Red said, and in his defense, he almost did seem remorseful, “Saur, Cocktail. Leave out the Sleep Powder. And trap him with Grass Knot and Vine Whip, will you?”

The Stun Spore registered first, it seemed. With so many legs it becomes quite obvious when a centipede suffers spasms. Koh caught on to the Grass Knot in his thrashing and quickly came tumbling down. Not two seconds after Red had given the command and already Saur had firmly bound the spirit in his many vines. The Leech Seed grew slow but steady, slowly growing into the spaces between Koh’s chitinous fragments. The Toxin was slow in taking hold. Still, Red knew that Koh was now poisoned. That alone was enough.

“Saur. Venoshock, half a minute. I would like to come to a quick solution with this sorry business.”

Under a blanket of vines an elongated body convulsed. Koh was entirely smothered in plants and he was in pain. It took 30 seconds until it felt like Koh could come up for air again, but a biting pain was snaking through its body. Koh knew the signs of poisoning –he was a centipede, after all– but never had he known a poison like the one coursing through his body right now.

Koh looked up at the human above only to meet cold, unfeeling eyes staring back.

“Make it stop!”

A beautiful red-haired lady wailed, spiraling locks and clear tears running down her face.

“… …”

Koh blinked. A little child looked up at Red, fat tears on rosy cheeks.

“… …”

Koh blinked. A puppy howled to the moon and the stars, the edges of its face flickering.

“… …”

Koh blinked. An old man with kindly dimples coughed as if his lungs were about to give out.

“Try one more face to rouse my pity and I will tell Saur to turn on the Venoshock again.”

Koh blinked. The painted face of the actor reappeared, visibly in pain.

”Why torture me, Red,” Koh purred in a whisper, “what have I done to you? Do you know no mercy?”

Red’s face was devoid of compassion as he regarded the centipede before him.

”Where I am from,” Red started, “us humans had to claw our places from the world from beings that control the elements on their whims. I have been fighting since I was ten, Koh, and within a year of starting my fight I have bested criminal masterminds and mythical legends. The second taught me the value of power. The first taught me that mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent. This only ends one way, Koh:

“You will return Darkrai’s face to him. Only you can decide how much you want to be broken by then.”

“You think, human,” Koh panted out, his eyes old and spiteful, “that you are the first to try and break me? To get me to give up a face? The _Avatar_ could not make me do it when I stole the face of his wife! Do your worst.”

“… … alright. Venoshock. One minute. Keep him under.”

Koh disappeared beneath the vines, and for the first time since coming down, Red addressed his other companion.

“Vee. Wish on the location that Saur brings out Koh next. When I approach him, I want you to cast a Heal Bell, too.”

The Espeon in Red’s hood only left its place for a few seconds to carry out its trainer’s orders. When Saur brought up Koh to the surface once more Vee was already safely hidden away again.

“You will feel better now,” Red said towards Koh and started walking forward, timing his actions just so that the effects of Heal Bell and Wish came into being as he said the words, “but I can continue doing this for as long as I want. Saur, Giga Drain. Keep his face level.”

Still constrained, Koh could barely move a muscle as Red stopped an arm’s length away from him. Slowly, ever so slowly, Red took Pika’s ball from his belt. The electric mouse appeared behind Koh, the centipede never getting a glimpse of Pikachu.

“Giovanni once tried to show me that nothing forces compliance just like shock therapy does.”

The quip was lost on Koh. The Thunderbolt singeing his carapace was not.

“Now, Koh, here is what will happen if you do not release Darkrai’s face. First, I will shock you some more. Then I will heal you again. After, I might freeze or burn you. I have not quite decided yet. Either way, you will be healed again. Then whatever option I neglected before will be employed. Once you are all good to go afterwards, I think I’ll just have you punched like a Wobbuffet. Then I will tear your mind, just a little.”

Red waited for a second to show that yes, the spirit world would not mark him a liar.

“When I am done with all that I will simply poison you once more. Or maybe I will mix it up. Maybe I will get creative. I have the time. I have the patience. Trust me, Koh, there has _never_ been someone before who has tried to break you just as I will.”

Red did not lie, and Koh knew that. Still it took a good three hours of torture until Koh begged for relief. 

“Please, stop,” the Face Stealer cried, “do not do this! I offer you whatever else you want from me, just do not take my faces!”

Red looked on as Heal Bell and Wish offered Koh relief for a second before he answered.

“I do not care much for the other faces you have. You only need to return Darkrai’s face for now.”

“I can only release the faces in the order I stole them,” Koh wailed, and for the first time Red thought his flowing tears genuine, “you would force me to give up all my faces!”

“… … I guess I am, then. To be honest, I am not really sorry about that,” Red answered, yet after a second he caught on to a small detail of what Koh had said. “Wait! _All_ your faces? You- you do not have a face, do you, Koh?”

The hate and fury in Koh’s eyes were answer enough to Red’s question, but Red had stared down more intimidating beings than the Face Stealer. And yet, Red had finally found his in.

“But for you it’s a calling, chasing after a face of your own, is it not? It would make a wonderful addition to your collection. Will it be a face unique to you? I see what you are, stealer of faces. Oh, to crave for your mother, the Mother of Faces, yet shy away from her presence…”

“Ho- how do you- Why those words?”

Koh had said much the same earlier. Back when… Koh blinked, and Darkrai’s face looked down at Red. Just what Red had been waiting for.

“Saur, _Block_!”

Red’s shout broke Koh’s stupor. The ancient centipede blinked and– Darkrai’s face looked down at Red.

Koh startled at that. He blinked and– Darkrai’s face looked down at Red.

Koh blinked and– Darkrai’s face looked down at Red.

“ **WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, HUMAN**?!”

Koh blinked and– Darkrai’s face looked down at Red.

Red did not come forth with an answer. Instead, the Pokémon champion just took out his pokédex from his backpack and pointed it at Koh wearing Darkrai’s face.

“ _Darkrai. The Pitch-Black Pokémon. Dark type._ ” Dex’s metallic hum replayed the information it had given earlier the same day. “ _According to folklore Darkrai is the cause of nightmares on moonless nights and preys on both Pokémon and humans in their dreams. However, it has been observed that Darkrai does not attack either Pokémon or humans unprovoked. It afflicts those around it with nightmares to protect itself and its territory. Against popular sentiment Darkrai has proven not to be malicious._ ”

“I knew it,” Red simply said, looking at Koh. Red offered a smile. A predatory glint to his eyes, Koh blinked and– Darkrai’s face looked down at Red.

“Saur,” Red said, ignoring the stupefied centipede in front of him, “prepare for capture.”

Nothing more needed to be said. Red’s Venusaur pummeled Koh once more. This time the plant-type finished it off with Sleep Powder. As soon as Koh hit the ground Red chucked a pokéball at it. Three shakes later and Koh was caught. When Red checked his pokédex, however, it showed him the registered capture of a Darkrai, instead.

“ _Would you like to register your new capture under a nickname_?”

Dex asked the same question it asked after each capture. However, instead of skipping the option as he usually did, Red hesitated for a second.

“… … Yes. Pudding.”

It was rather immature of Red, but then again, as a kid Red had once renamed Blue and convinced Green to call their frenemy by his _actual_ name, ‘Ass-hat’, for a day. That had been hilarious. They’d even gotten Professor Oak to join in. Blue still loathed the insult above all else.

“Pudding, I choose you!”

The sleeping Koh reappeared in front of Red. A quick Heal Bell by Vee had the spirit wide awake a second after.

“Wha- what happene–”

“Here’s what’s going to happen, Pudding. In a few seconds I will ask you how much time has passed counting from right this moment. Understood, Pudding?”

Koh nodded. The basic behavior therapy subroutines from the pokéball had obviously left him confused. They’d also imprinted on Koh that Pudding was him.

“Good. Now return, Pudding.”

After that, Red made his way out of the grotto. He found Darkrai waiting for him outside and they made their way towards… somewhere. Honestly, directions were hard to tell in the foggy gorge. After a quick lunch with his team Red once more released Koh –Pudding.

“How much time has passed, Pudding?”

The (still) stunned centipede could only reply absentmindedly: “Maybe 20 seconds? Less than a minute.”

There was a feeling of wrongness to the world at Pudding’s answer. Koh just looked panicked, his face that of a young man with a ridiculous mustache.

“You are wrong,” Red answered, his face blank once again, “more than two hours have passed. In what will seem like another few seconds to you, another hour will have passed, Pudding.”

Pudding was recalled once more, only to be released another hour later. Red simply sat down in front of the Face Stealer this time.

“Look, Koh. I can keep you in this kind of stasis my whole life. Worse, I could leave you in stasis _your_ whole life. That sounds really bad when you are immortal, does it not?”

The centipede remained stubborn. Well, maybe it was time for the carrot instead.

“Look. The ball you are in is meant to contain Pokémon. I believe there is a chance that I will be _unable_ to keep you trapped once you have given up Darkrai’s face. Think about that until we talk next.”

Technically, that was not a lie. Red doubted Koh would be set free, but it never hurt to try. A small chance _did_ exist. Still, before Koh could answer, Red recalled him once more. Time for a gamble. Red did not care to waste any more time on Koh than necessary.

“Darkrai,” Red said, turning towards the faceless Pitch-Black Pokémon by his side, “the Mother of Faces might be able to restore your face. We are going to look for her.”

The world felt wrong for a second as Red lied, but Darkrai did not know what that meant. Now, to roll the dice. Pudding was called out again.

“Koh,” Red said coldly, Darkrai by his side, “you will release the faces you have stolen. Otherwise, you will not like what happens the next time you come out of stasis.”

Another round of Toxin and Venoshock was on Red’s mind, but Koh did not know that. What Koh _did_ know was what Darkrai thought they were going to do, and–

“ **NO!** ” The centipede trembled in fear. “You win, human. Just… let me go, after. Please.”

Red did not bother to answer that question. Instead, he said what Koh needed to hear.

“If you return Darkrai’s face I will not seek out the Mother of Faces.”

Koh crumbled into himself before drawing a breath that had the air shudder. Faces flashed, impossibly fast, tens, hundreds, thousands. Animals, humans, spirits. At last, Koh’s face stalled. Darkrai’s face stalled.

“You, Red, are a monster. I think I might fear you just as much as my mother.”

The world did not deny Koh’s words. Where its face had been only blank black skin remained. Turning to the side, Red found Darkrai looking back at him.

“I know,” Red answered Koh, still looking at Darkrai, “but I can make myself believe I am one of the good ones.”

Koh went back into the ball. In the end, the ancient centipede had met its match.

Not long after, Red left Koh’s gorge. He was greeted by the sun hanging over the spirit world. Two new pokéballs were clipped to his belt; one contained Koh, the other held the Darkrai that had decided to join Red. A whole new world lay before them, and Red felt a smile steal itself onto his face. 

Maybe, just maybe, he was not in such a hurry to get back home anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a fun ride.  
> I have to confess, as you no doubt noticed, I am significantly better versed in Pokémon lore than I am in Avatar lore.
> 
> Still, in Avatar: The Last Airbender the information on the spirit world is rather sparce.  
> I know it gets a bigger spot light in Korra's story, I just have not gotten further than season one of that show.  
> Now, my spirit world mechanics are build upon the sentence Iroh uses to describe the spirit world —to Korra.
> 
> Sue me, it's the epiphet on the the spirit world entry to the Avatar wiki. The story just ran away with me on that quote.
> 
> Despite all that, I do hope you enjoyed my story.  
> Please do comment if you feel so inclined.


End file.
